Outcome

Full doc:

Analysis

Looking at the final outcome of the documentary, I can say that I am pleased with how it turned out. Nevertheless, I think there are areas which could be improved. In this reflection I will be analysing what went well and what did not, as well as what I would have done differently.

Although I had doubts about utilizing animation and typography in this project, upon closer analysis I understood that animated documentary shouldn’t be disregarded as a form of documentation and evaluation. This is because animation allows for creative processing of the truth, which in turn generates engagement from the audience. Moreover, the standards set by the industry, of what a conventional documentary should look like, must be broken to achieve a new perspective and be recognised as a breakthrough in documentary genre. Therefore, I tried my best to reflect on the truth by visualising the actions of the participants and using kinetic typography to define the reality.

What I like about the use of animation, Is the ability to abstract from the persons appearance and focus on the voice, the emotion carried by it and the imagery that it evokes in our minds. Love is a difficult topic to visualise with real footage. How do you visualise an emotion, a chemical reaction, that you cannot see? Thus, the animation provides the ability to interpret love in any form or shape, our brain has the capacity to visualise scenarios and imagery we haven’t seen before, and giving the brain this opportunity to imagine love as a form comes through isolating the voice and the words. Moreover, I particularly enjoyed what has been mentioned by Serrazina (2016), stating that animation is a solution to when one doesn’t wish to be shown on camera, suggesting that animated documentary is not a nuisance, but a key to successful storytelling.

With this in mind, I think my use of animation and typography was successful. However, what I would have done differently, is use a different style of animation. At the end of the project, felt like the character designs I chose were too goofy for some of the serious moments in the responses. Additionally, due to the lack of time, I was unable to utilise the full potential of the rigging technique. What I think could have been more effective, is giving the animation more time and focus, as well as using the style of instant visualisation which I was inspired by in my presentation. The pencil line drawing visuals look more intact and thought through, as well as carrying a moment of realism and familiarity. I think, using it would have brought a more concrete sense of emotion and atmosphere to the project, and allow the viewers to feel impacted by the story.

In terms of typography, I believe the effect was pungent. I like how bringing unconventional and secondary elements of the documentary genre complemented the storytelling in this project. It was definitely a suitable option and worked well in identifying significant phrases. Moreover, the combination of fonts which I decided to use was in tandem with the topic and the animation. The fonts looked cohesive and did not attract unnecessary attention to themselves. However, if this were to be a feature documentary, I would like to incorporate a wider variety of fonts, to bring definition to the fact that creativity and imagination has a place in the documentary genre. Another aspect of the typography, would be using more complex compositions and working in the 3D space. I think this allows for more fluidity in the transitions and the flow of speech. I had implemented some of this technique in the pilot, however it would be more effective to stick to that structure and use it throughout.

I would also like to bring attention to the background colour, and the decisions behind my choices. Firstly, I distanced myself from using backdrops with depth of field and details due to the fact that when seen with typography, they can be a distraction especially when used for a long period of time. I didn’t want the background to bring unnecessary attention to itself and take away from the storyline. Therefore, I chose to use two simple plain colours blue and red in pastel tones. The decision behind choosing them is connected with the questions raised in the project about youth and adulthood. Blue, for me, associates with purity, new beginnings, naïve and unharmed nature, whereas red represents passion, seduction, danger and warning. These symbolic meanings became apparent to me when I listened to the responses, thus the colour represents the emotions and atmosphere conveyed by the speakers. The choice to use pastel tones however, came from a technical perspective, to again complement the typography and animation, instead of attracting too much attention.

The choice to source my materials from HITRECORD was particularly effective. I didn’t expect so many responses within a few days, and had a wide range of answers to choose from. Of course, I wish I didn’t have to be so selective, but the time frame of 5min restricted my choices. Yet I believe I ended up with a variety of answers from people of different backgrounds and ages. In this sense, If I were to make this into a feature documentary, I would be able to incorporate an even broader range of participants. Additionally, I wish I was able to be more selective, for example talking to people on the street, as I would be able to analyse the appearance of the person and be in control of variety of identities. However, with the current circumstances, HITRECORD provided me with nearly identical experience. Furthermore, I received positive feedback from family and friends about the audio I prepared with the responses. They too thought that the answers were very diverse, well-structured and emotionally effective.

I was also complemented on the choice of music, which I sourced from a royalty free website (https://filmstro.com/music). It was said that the soundtrack fit very well with the responses and made the audio flow seamlessly and naturally, evoking additional emotional response. In my opinion, If I were to improve on this aspect, I would ask a music composer (for instance, some of my friends who study at Leeds College of Music) to design an original score for the documentary. That way, I would be able to share the creativity of the project with others and incorporate original ideas. However, I could not do it for this project due to a small timeframe and their unavailability.

Overall, I am happy with the way the animated documentary turned out. I feel confident that this could become a feature with all corrections in mind applied to it. I can see that the story of the speakers was delivered and understood very well, with technical elements complementing it from every angle. This is very important to me, to see that all the aspects work in harmony with one another to deliver thoughts and feelings. Despite the emotion being portrayed less clearly, I think in conclusion the piece was successful.